New Possibilities in Thermal Analysis of Molding Materials

Molding material-related studies within the research activities concerning foundry technology have always been limited despite the significant effect of molding mixtures on the quality of cast parts. One reason behind this trend is the difficulty in interpreting the results of such complex systems like molds and cores. This paper provides a new possibility for studying the heat-absorption performance of materials used as molding media in metal casting processes. By further developing the Fourier thermal analysis method of cores and molds introduced by earlier authors, the investigation of unbonded sand has become available. The heat-absorption properties of the components can be hereby separated and studied respectively. Thermal analyses were performed on sphere-shaped resin-bonded cores with various binder levels as well as on unbonded sand samples. The temperature data collected from two points of the samples were then used for the calculation of the novel thermophysical properties. The results revealed not only quantitative but qualitative differences in the characteristics of the binder decomposition processes, providing a deeper understanding on the thermal behavior of molding materials. The outcome of the research provides more-accurate data, which is the key for the improved simulation of casting processes.